


Confession Letters

by artikgato



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Practice Kissing, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29430900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artikgato/pseuds/artikgato
Summary: “What if we practice kissing?” Yosuke asked. Souji blinked at him, shocked. Of all the things he’d ever expected to come out of Yosuke’s mouth, that was certainly not one of them.“With each-other?” he clarified.
Relationships: Hanamura Yosuke/Persona 4 Protagonist, Hanamura Yosuke/Seta Souji
Comments: 4
Kudos: 84
Collections: Souyo Red and White Days 2021





	Confession Letters

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!

**Sunday, February 12th, 2012**

**Evening**

**Weather: Cold**

Souji Seta and Yosuke Hanamura sat opposite each-other on the floor of Souji’s room, coffee table between them. The surface of the table was littered with books and notebooks and pencils. The two of them  _ had _ been studying.  _ Had _ being the key word. Like always, Yosuke was the first to break. He’d gotten much better about not derailing their study sessions but there was only so long he could go for before he had to do  _ something _ else,  _ anything _ else. Usually it was a bathroom break or a snack break or he just needed to stretch his legs a bit. This time was different.

“So, if you’ve got a second to spare, Partner, I need some advice. You’re kind of a ladies man, after all, so this should be no problem for you,” he said, turning to his school bag and fishing something out.

“I’m not a ladies man,” Souji tried to protest. Yes, he’d been confessed to by a frankly absurd number of girls, but he’d turn them all down. To be honest, he had very little interest in girls... not that Yosuke needed to know that. Yosuke ignored his protest anyway, like he always did whenever he had his mind set on something. He triumphantly produced a white envelope, tossing it onto Souji’s side of the coffee table with a huge grin. 

It was clearly a confession note. The words ‘Hanamura-senpai’ were written on the front in immaculate and very girly pink kana. There was a cute gold foil heart sticker on the back at the bottom of the flap. Souji noted Yosuke had been careful to keep the sticker intact when he opened the letter. He looked up at Yosuke, who beamed at him.

“It’s a confession note! Somebody wants to give me some very special chocolates on Valentine’s Day!” Yosuke proudly announced. Souji cautiously opened the envelope and pulled out the note. It was pink stationary, and the same pink ink from the front was used to write the letter itself. It was a pretty standard confession letter, very similar to most of the letters Souji himself had gotten. There had been a  _ pile _ of similar letters in his locker when he’d left school the previous day, in fact. The letter implored Yosuke to meet the writer on the roof after school on Valentine’s Day, and was signed ‘your secret admirer’. 

“Cute,” Souji said, carefully refolding the note and putting it back in the envelope. He slid it across the coffee table to Yosuke.

“I know, right?! I’ll bet she’s  _ super  _ cute. Maybe a little nerdy, what with how nice her handwriting is,” Yosuke said. He sighed, dreamily. Souji frowned.

“Yosuke, I hate to bring this up, but what if it’s someone looking to get revenge on Junes?” he asked. Yosuke also frowned, folding his arms.

“I thought about that,” he admitted. “And it could be, but that kind of stuff has really quieted down lately. And I mean, what if it isn’t, and she’s a really cute girl? It’s worth a shot, right?” 

“Sure,” Souji forced himself to say. His own feelings didn’t matter. For all intents and purposes Yosuke was straight, and there was a non-zero chance that this actually could result in him getting a girlfriend, which was something he’d wanted for a long time. Who was Souji to get in the way of that?

“Anyway, that’s not the advice I wanted to ask about,” Yosuke said. Souji nodded for him to continue. “Okay, so I got this confession, and I’ve seen the piles of confessions you’ve been getting, Mr. Popular. So what I’m saying is, there’s a really good chance we could both end up with girlfriends on Valentine’s Day!”

Souji severely doubted that, at least on his part. 

“And uh,” Yosuke continued, taking Souji’s silence as a cue to continue. “I, uh… See, the thing is, I’ve never kissed anybody before, and I’d like some pointers? Just in case, eheh…”

“I’m afraid I can’t help you there,” Souji replied. The last time he’d kissed someone was back in elementary school, and it had been on a dare, and it hasn’t been a girl. He’d won 500 yen and discovered that he was absolutely gay. It was a fond memory, but not a memory that was going to be any help at all at the moment to his poor, tragically straight friend.

“Wait, you’re kidding,” Yosuke said, staring at him with a dumbfounded look on his face. “Hold on, you haven’t kissed anybody?  _ You _ ?” Souji seriously debated telling Yosuke about the kiss on a dare, but decided it wasn’t worth it. He just shook his head. “Why not?!”

“It’s really not a big deal,” Souji replied. “I’m waiting for the right person, I guess?”

“Well, that’s no good,” Yosuke said with a sigh. “Aw man, what if we both get girlfriends on Valentine’s but we completely botch it when we go to kiss them?”

“It’ll be fine, Yosuke,” Souji said, attempting to calm his friend down. Yosuke shook his head.

“I’ve read about all the things you’re  _ not _ supposed to do when you kiss someone,” Yosuke complained. “But I mean, kissing isn’t one of those things you can just read about and be good at. Well, maybe  _ you _ could, but  _ I _ can’t.” Souji snorted out a laugh.

“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” he said. Yosuke sighed again and leaned over the coffee table, planting his face in one of the open textbooks. 

“Man, what are we gonna do?” Yosuke continued to complain, the sound muffled by the book. He suddenly shot back into an upright position, looking a little panicked. “Oh, dude, I’m so sorry. I’ll bet you’re planning on rejecting all the girls because you don’t want to break their hearts in April.” Souji just nodded. That was a reasonable enough excuse after all. Yosuke leaned back against the couch and folded his arms, contemplating. 

“Shall we get back to studying?” Souji hesitantly asked after a few moments. Yosuke shook his head. He looked over at Souji with a determined look on his face.

“I’ve got an idea, Partner,” he announced. “And you can totally say no, it’s kind of a weird idea after all.”

“What is it?” Souji asked. Yosuke paused, clearly hesitating, before that determined look came back with a vengeance.

“What if we practice kissing?” he asked. Souji blinked at him, shocked. Of all the things he’d ever expected to come out of Yosuke’s mouth, that was certainly not one of them. 

“With each-other?” he clarified. Yosuke blushed.

“It’s… Yeah, it’s  _ kinda _ gay but if it means I don’t mess up with a future girlfriend, I mean…” Yosuke stammered through his explanation, his blush darkening with each word. 

Souji Seta had fought the dark manifestations of his friends’ psyches, terrifying otherworldly monsters, literal actual  _ gods _ and even helped bring a killer to justice. He’d had to make a choice between letting his friends push a politician into a TV or letting him live, even though at the time they had thought he was the killer. This was by far the heftiest choice he’d ever faced. 

On the one hand, he would get to kiss Yosuke — something that he’d been wanting to do ever since he’d pulled him out of that trash can all those months ago, try as he might to avoid thinking about it. On the other hand, it was  _ absolutely _ going to make things awkward between them, and he didn’t know if he could live with that. His indecision must have shown on his face, because Yosuke quickly backpedaled.

“Ah, sorry Partner! It’s too weird, right? Forget I even brought it up!” he said. 

Souji’s mind continued to churn with the weight of the decision. Kiss Yosuke now, and satisfy that urge to know what it would feel like to kiss him? Kiss Yosuke and move forward with the knowledge that he was and always would be Yosuke’s first kiss? Kiss Yosuke knowing that he had a perfect alibi for it, a perfect out in the concept of this being just for practice, and practice almost entirely for Yosuke’s own benefit at that? The urge was powerful. When would he ever have an opportunity like this again? 

“It’s a good idea,” he finally said, after spending probably too long metaphorically chewing on his words, trying to make sure there wasn’t an ounce of gay longing in them. Yosuke perked up. He was still blushing, but the anxiety was gone from his face.

“Re-really?” he asked. Souji nodded.

“But, Yosuke, are you okay with me being your first kiss?” he asked. Yosuke’s blush only got darker.

“Well, uh…” he croaked out. He looked embarrassed. Had he actually not realized that? “I mean, it… doesn’t count if it’s practice, right?” 

“That’s up to you, I guess,” Souji said with a shrug. 

“It’s like how getting a kiss from a relative totally doesn’t count, so practice kissing doesn’t either,” Yosuke said, sounding more sure of himself. Souji was a little disappointed, but decided to go along with it. Whatever it took to make Yosuke comfortable.

“Sure,” he said.

“First kisses suck anyway,” Yosuke continued. “Or at least that’s what I’ve heard.” 

“Right,” Souji replied.  _ His _ first kiss hadn’t sucked, but then again it had been just a little peck on the lips, so he supposed it didn’t really  _ count… _

“So, uh…” Yosuke stammered. Souji decided to be bold. If he left it up to Yosuke, he knew that he’d just hesitate and they’d be here all night. He shifted forward, leaning bodily across the coffee table and grabbing Yosuke’s face. Yosuke barely had time to gasp before Souji tugged him toward him and tilted his head, pushing their mouths together. 

It was fantastic. Souji’s heart was beating fast and there was a distinct heat in his cheeks, and he felt like his stomach was full of butterflies. Yosuke’s mouth was soft and warm against his. After what was probably only a few seconds but felt like months, there was a distinct shift, the feeling of Yosuke’s arms sliding around his neck, and then Yosuke started to kiss back. Souji felt like lightning was coursing through his veins, like when he called on Izanagi in battle. Eventually Yosuke pulled away and Souji let him, though he was a little disappointed.

“Th-that was pretty good, Partner,” Yosuke stammered. Souji got the distinct impression that he was under-selling the kiss, but he was too busy being happy to care. This  _ had _ been a good idea.

“More practice?” he asked, and Yosuke nodded a little too eagerly. This time Yosuke took the initiative, sliding his hands up to thread into Souji’s hair and steering him into a second kiss. The feeling of his hands in Souji’s hair was pretty amazing. The whole thing was pretty amazing. Souji was going to remember this for a long time. 

The position was awkward, and Souji knew Yosuke had to be feeling it because he was feeling it too… But neither of them made any kind of move to break away. They would separate just enough to catch their breath and then dive into another kiss. Souji honestly didn’t know how long they were at it, and after a while he even lost track of how many kisses they exchanged. 

“You’re really good at this,” Yosuke eventually panted. His hands slid out of Souji’s hair and Souji reluctantly let him go when he started to pull further away. Souji gratefully moved back into a seated position. He reached up and smoothed down his hair while Yosuke leaned back against the couch and caught his breath. Souji’s heart was still pounding. Now that they weren’t actively kissing he was kind of in shock that it had happened. “You have experience, don’t you? Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”

“Nope,” Souji replied. That little peck on the lips in elementary school was in no way experience. 

“So you’re just naturally good at kissing,” Yosuke said, putting a hand over his eyes and laughing. “Damn, Partner, is there anything you’re not good at?”

“You only think I’m good because you have no frame of reference,” Souji said. “And from my perspective, you’re really good too, Yosuke.”

“Flatterer,” Yosuke accused, but Souji could tell he was joking. He hadn’t moved his hand. Souji was incredibly tempted to crawl over there and join him. 

“So, are we done practicing?” he asked instead. Yosuke finally moved the hand, looking over at him with a little frown.

“Hmm… well, probably not? I mean, that was some great practice kissing awkwardly across a coffee table, but I doubt that’s going to be how it happens with this mystery girl,” he said. He stood up, and Souji did too. Yosuke rounded the table and approached him, looking nervous. They were more or less the same height, Souji maybe had an inch or two on him, but…

“Your mystery girl  _ probably _ isn’t going to be taller than you,” Souji said, and Yosuke nodded. He must have come to the same conclusion. “I could...crouch, or something?” 

“I could stand on something,” Yosuke said, looking around. He frowned. “I wish she’d included her height in the letter!” Souji laughed. 

There really wasn’t anything Yosuke could  _ safely  _ stand on in Souji’s room. 

“Maybe… the stairs?” Yosuke tentatively suggested. Souji shook his head.

“That’s dangerous. Hmm. There’s the porch downstairs,” he offered.

“Too cold!” Yosuke said. Souji looked around the room again.

“I could kneel on the futon,” he said. When Yosuke didn’t object he walked over to it and climbed on, settling himself so that he was on his knees. Yosuke walked over and joined him. It didn’t make him much shorter than Yosuke, but it was apparently enough, because Yosuke nodded in approval. 

“That works. Okay, um, so, I guess I…” he blustered.

“Just pretend I’m a girl,” Souji offered. Yosuke stuck his tongue out at him.

“No offense, Partner, but there’s  _ nothing _ girly about you,” he said. Souji thought for a moment.

“I could put on the wig from the culture festival,” he offered. Yosuke groaned.

“Do you really still have that?!” he demanded. Souji nodded with a sly smile. “You’re so weird sometimes, you know that Partner?”

“You like how weird I am, admit it,” Souji goaded. Yosuke sighed.

“You’re right,” he admitted. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out, shuffling closer to where Souji was kneeling. Souji didn’t have to tilt his head back that far to look up at him. “Okay, here we go. I’m doing it.”

“Okay,” Souji said. Yosuke took another few moments to psyche himself up, and then he put a hand on one of Souji’s cheeks and leaned down. Souji managed to tilt his head in time to keep their noses from colliding, and Yosuke’s lips slotted mostly with his. Souji fought the urge to grab his face and kiss him senseless, remembering he was playing the role of the girl in this. He had to be more demure, less demanding. He ended up sliding his arms around Yosuke’s shoulders and reciprocating gently. Yosuke made a confused noise and pulled away.

“What happened to how you were kissing me before?” he asked, sounding a little disappointed.

“I’m trying to kiss like a girl,” Souji replied. Yosuke looked taken aback

“Oh… heh, right,” he said. He cleared his throat. “Well, uh, keep it up, I guess… though I’ve gotta admit, I kinda prefer the way you were doing it before…”

“Whatever you want, you’re the one this practice is benefiting the most, Yosuke,” Souji said. He was lying through his teeth. He was  _ definitely _ the one getting the most out of this, if he was being completely honest with himself. Who gets to kiss their crush with absolutely no consequences?

“Okay, well I guess whatever feels right to you, Partner,” Yosuke replied. He leaned back in and Souji gladly met him, kissing back much more fiercely. Yosuke made a little pleased noise and slid his arms around Souji’s lower back, pulling them flush against each-other. Souji was thrilled. They kissed like that for a while, and Souji was surprisingly into it. He was tall and he’d also spent the last ten months fantasizing about kissing mostly Yosuke, so the idea of kissing someone taller than  _ him  _ almost never came up.

Souji really tried not to think about the fact that this was almost certainly a one night only thing. At midnight the magic would fade and all he’d be left with was a metaphorical glass slipper. He also tried hard not to think about how he’d be leaving in April. He evidently was doing a bad job of it, because Yosuke pulled away from the kiss, moving back far enough that he could look into Souji’s eyes without going cross-eyed.

“Everything okay?” he asked. Souji sighed.

“Sorry. I just started thinking about how I’m leaving in April,” he said. Yosuke frowned. “I don’t know why it came to mind. I’m not bored kissing you or anything…”

“Well, I think I have the basics down. I wouldn’t say no to more practice, but if you want to stop I won’t be offended,” Yosuke offered. Souji shook his head.

“I don’t want to stop,” he said. Yosuke blushed.

“What, like right now or ever?” he asked. That was a loaded question and he knew it, if the way he suddenly couldn’t look at Souji was any indication. 

Did he answer truthfully, just to see how Yosuke would react? Or did he play it off as a joke? Souji could feel the weight of the decision. How he answered was going to fundamentally change their relationship. Souji could feel the Magician arcana in his mind, glowing with possibility. It was about to change no matter what he did, but would it grow stronger or break entirely?

Only one way to find out.

“Ever, to be honest,” he answered, studying Yosuke’s face very carefully. Yosuke froze completely, eyes going wide and face going red. For a long, long few moments Souji felt like he’d messed up, like the arcana was about to reverse…

And then Yosuke looked at him. He was blushing like mad and there was an unsure look on his face, but he didn’t look upset. 

“I… Listen, I’m not gay, I know that for sure, but I… k-kinda don’t want to stop kissing you, either.” He looked away. “Ever,” he squeaked out in conclusion. 

Souji was absolutely speechless, which was unfortunate because this was arguably the worst possible time to be speechless. Yosuke cleared his throat after a moment and looked back at him, that same determined look on his face from before.

“Listen, I just… I’ve never met anyone else that makes me feel like you make me feel, Souji. You’re special, you’re really,  _ really _ special. I don’t know what to do about it,” Yosuke continued. He looked away again, ashamed. The spell was broken, and Souji suddenly found words.

“That’s the second time you’ve used the word special to describe me,” he pointed out. Yosuke chuckled.

“That’s because you  _ are _ special, dummy,” he replied, still not looking at him. 

“You know you’re special to me too, right?” Souji asked. Yosuke somehow went a few shades more red, but nodded. “Yosuke, I’m going to be completely honest with you right now. I’ve wanted to kiss you ever since I pulled you out of that trash can back in April.”

“Wha-really?!” Yosuke demanded, finally looking at him. He looked skeptical. “Since then? Are you sure?”

“You’re very attractive,” Souji said. Yosuke choked on air and looked away again. “Do… you want me to give you some space? It looks like you’re about to combust.”

“Nonono,” Yosuke stammered. “I’m fine like this, I like this.”

“Are you sure? I won’t be offended,” Souji pressed him. Yosuke sighed, but nodded. He unwrapped his arms from Souji’s waist and Souji let him go. He stood up from the futon once he had the space to and, suddenly inspired, he made a sudden beeline for his desk.

“What are you doing, Partner?” Yosuke asked. Souji pulled out his chair and sat down, reaching for the drawer where he had some nice stationery and pens. He flashed a cheeky grin over his shoulder at Yosuke, who already looked less like he was overheating.

“It’s a secret~” he said in a singsong voice. Yosuke frowned and marched over to his desk, looking over his shoulder at what he was doing. He’d already started writing a letter on a piece of nice peachy-orange stationery. Sadly all he had was black ink, but he supposed he could make do. A blue or green would have looked lovely on the paper.

_ Dear Yosuke _ , he’d written, with a little heart after Yosuke’s name. Yosuke made a sound somewhere between a gasp and a laugh.

“Are you writing me a confession letter?!” he asked, and Souji nodded, grinning at him. Yosuke shook his head, but the grin didn’t leave his face. “You’re  _ so _ weird.” Souji just went back to writing the letter.

> Dear Yosuke <3,
> 
> You are very cool and attractive, and I’ve admired you for a long time.  _ (“Oh, come on, Partner, that’s so embarrassing!” “But it’s true…”)  _ Please meet me at the Samegawa gazebo after school on Valentine’s Day. ( _ “Won’t it be cold?” “As if the roof won’t be.” “True, true.”)  _ I’ll have some special chocolates just for you! I hope you’ll accept my heartfelt confession.
> 
> xoxo, Your secret admirer

“You really mean all that?” Yosuke asked as Souji carefully folded up the letter and found an envelope to put it in. He didn’t have any cute stickers, unfortunately. 

“Of course,” Souji replied, sealing the envelope and turning it over to write Yosuke’s name on it. 

“...even the part about the chocolates?” Yosuke asked, and Souji chuckled.

“Tomorrow night I’m helping Nanako make chocolates for all the boys in her grade. I was planning on making chocolates for you and everyone else on the Investigation Team.”

“You know you’re supposed to do that on White Day, right?” Yosuke asked.

“I’m planning on doing it on White Day too,” he said. “Can’t give too much chocolate to the people you love, right?” 

“I suppose so,” Yosuke said. He reached for the envelope, but Souji held it away from him. 

“I’m going to put this in your locker tomorrow,” he informed Yosuke, who pouted. 

“Okay, okay. Well, will you at least accept my answer then?” he asked, but Souji shook his head.

“I expect a letter in my locker too,” Souji informed him. Yosuke frowned.

“Aw, come on, Partner! My handwriting isn’t as good as yours, and I don’t even own any stationery!” he protested.

“That’s no excuse,” Souji said. “You could literally write your confession on a napkin and I’d accept it… but some cute stationery would be nice, you know.” Yosuke sighed.

“Fine, fine. I guess I can pick some up with my discount at Junes…” he grumbled, but Souji could tell he wasn’t actually that upset. He put the letter down on his desk and stood. 

“Shall we get back to studying?” he asked, and Yosuke shook his head.

“I’d like to get a little more practice in,” he replied, and Souji raised an eyebrow.

“You know it isn’t really practice any more, right?” he asked.

“I need practice kissing someone a little bit taller than me,” he informed Souji. “You know, in case I end up going to the gazebo to meet my secret admirer.” Souji laughed.

“Hmm, I guess we can keep practicing,” he said. He approached Yosuke and reached up to cup his cheek, basking in the affectionate look Yosuke gave him. 

They got in quite a lot of practice that night... at the expense of studying.

The next day, Souji was pleased to find a letter in his locker. It was written on very cute frog stationery. The handwriting wasn’t as nice as a lot of the other confession letters in his locker, but the contents of it really set it apart from the rest.

> Dear Souji,
> 
> I also think you are really cool and attractive, and I admire you a lot. I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to come to terms with my feelings, but late is better than never, right? I look forward to seeing you at the Samegawa gazebo this afternoon, and I’m really excited to get to eat your special chocolates. 
> 
> Love, Partner.


End file.
